The Stars Shine on Moscow

This year's festival had some high-profile guests: actors Will Smith and Charlize Theron, and director Peter Berg. The trio came to see their recent film, "Hancock," in the opening ceremony. Berg had become the first Hollywood director to stage his movie's premiere in Moscow, two weeks earlier.

Hollywood glamour came to Moscow, where, at the Ritz Carlton, world-famous stars Will Smith and Charlize Theron arrived to attend the festival. While Theron booked a standard room without any so-called "star allures," Will Smith chose to stay in the presidential suite. He also made a point of giving the organizers a hard time, warning them he hated pork and nuts. Smith's producers made sure this apparently water-obsessed Hollywood star had plenty of liquids under the hot Moscow sun.

Usually travelling with his family, this time Smith arrived with only his personal trainer and a train of heavy luggage. This was a result of his decision to never appear in public in the same clothes twice. However, Smith was to be outdone by the Hancock delegation, which arrived with 200 suitcases of clothes, most of them belonging to the stars.

"This is the third time I've been to Russia, and my second professional visit here. I'm here to see films and meet people," commented Smith.

Charlize Theron was also happy to be in Moscow: "I worked in independent cinema for some time, and I admire this festival because you can see films here that are never released commercially."

Fans and journalists were jubilant: the cameras never left Smith as he gave autographs to all who asked and posed for pictures. When he got on stage to dance, he was joined by festival President Nikita Mikhalkov. -